Mormon Monday

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

 

If you ask my generation who their favorite General Authority is, the majority of them will say Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.

On March 21, 2014, Elder Holland came to Orem Institute for devotional. I was a bad child and skipped class so I could attend this special event.

 

First off, lets point out his hilarious sense of humor. At the beginning I thought he didn't have a talk and was just going to tell us jokes the whole time. Which would of been perfectly acceptable. He joked how he had known the President of UVU since he was a little boy. This is only funny if you understand that Matthew Holland is Elder Holland's son.

Also, once he stood up he complimented the Institute Choir by saying he was going to either pass out or hang from the chandeliers. Those were the two emotions he was feeling.

 

He continued onto his talk he prepared titled:

 "I Want To Be Saved If My Friends Will Help Me."

We as human beings have two fears. 1) Fear we can't change and 2) Even if we change, the mark of sin will always be there.

Fear We Can't Change: First off, Satan is the devil. He doesn't want you to change. He wants to stump your progress. He is miserable and wants everyone to be miserable with him. Misery always wants company.

You can change. That is the point of the Plan of Salvation. To make changes to be your best self. I love this because making little changes is what matters. Like: reading your scriptures every day, stop gossiping, seeing the best in every situation, and telling people you love that you love them. We shouldn't feel like we have no control. Because we do. "If we feel like a robot or a rag doll then we are being carefully led down to hell." It is the lack of action that will get to us the place we don't want to be.

"Hope for the future. Otherwise you will be hopeless."

Man can be transformed through repentance and God's forgiveness. Christ gives a way back to God. Christ was the only one worthy enough to lift the sins of the world.

And the best part is after you apply the atonement, you can come back stronger than ever.

Fear of  No Forgiveness: We can feel this way because others don't let you feel the forgiveness. You have "friends" who won't let you forget your sins and your past. Some of us beat others down. Even though people want to change we won't let them. This breaks my heart because it is true. Some people are just road blocks for progression. We should be lifting each other up, not tearing them down. Help them and let them see the light at the end of the tunnel. True friends lead people out of sin and forget past mistakes. Believe that they are new people. "We all have need to repent and the obligation to forgive." I love this quotes because we are not perfect and we need to realize that we are all fighting the same battle. So lets give slack to everyone we know. We are all just trying our best.

 

"God bless us to help each other come back home!"